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American Idol’s Top 30 Includes First Openly Gay Contestant, M.K. Nobilette

MK Nobilette auditions in front of the judges on AMERICAN IDOL XIII
American Idol Season 13's Top 30 includes the show's first openly gay contestant, M.K. Nobilette, as revealed on Feb. 12.Michael Becker / FOX

It took 13 seasons, but American Idol finally had its first openly gay contestant make the Top 30 on Wednesday, Feb. 12. M.K. Nobilette made Idol history by publicly coming out as gay while waiting to hear her fate on the Fox singing competition show from judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban.

Related: PHOTOS: Out and proud celebs

"I think with you it was kind of difficult because we all fell in love with your voice and your style, but you're not the typical American Idol," Lopez said.

"And we wonder is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing?" Connick Jr. asked. "Do we think it? Will America think it? All of these questions start coming up. How do you fit in? Do you not fit in?"

"I have my own thoughts on that too," Nobilette, 20, said.

"What's your thoughts on that?" Urban asked.

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"I'm very obviously gay, and there are always gonna be people in America and everywhere else who will definitely hate me," Nobilette said. "But I think that in the last two years there have been a lot of things that have really changed that, and have made it a positive thing."

"Thank goodness," Connick Jr. said.

"This is a tough day," Lopez said of eliminating contestants. "The world is changing, I think. We think that you could be an American Idol, and we'd like you to be in our Top 15 girls."

Related: PHOTOS: American Idol winners

Other female contestants who made the cut for the Top 30 on Wednesday included: Andrina Brogden, Bria Anai, Emily Piriz, Jessica Meuse, Jillian Jensen, Kristen O'Connor and Malaya Watson.

The men included: Alex Preston, Dexter Roberts, Emmanuel Zidor, George Lovett, Jordan Brisbane, Malcolm Allen, Maurice Townsend, Sam Woolf and Spencer Lloyd.

As a cliffhanger for Thursday night's episode, Casey Thrasher and C.J. Harris had to sing for the lives in front of the judges. The winner — and the rest of the Top 30 contestants — will be revealed Thursday, Feb. 13.

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